The first step to starting a business is deciding to start a business. They say the first step is the hardest and in our experience this is especially true when it comes to starting a business. Getting over the mental roadblocks can be tough, often harder to overcome than the challenges you’ll face once you actually start the business. Fellow entrepreneurs share their thoughts below.

Latoya Taylor | Licensed Cosmetologist & Business Owner

My thought process behind starting my own business was I wanted to innovate something in my industry that no one else has started. The beauty and fashion world. Read more>>

 Dave Bradley | Record store owner

There really was no thought process other than both of us wanting to do our own thing & break away from the 9-5’s we had. I had always wanted to work in a record store since my early teen years & later that changed to wanting to own one. we both are collectors & were selling records at Record shows /flea markets & antique malls/eBay, etc., so why not take a chance and open a shop? Read more>>

Lisa Dalton | Life Coach/Teacher/Author

I thought it would be wonderful if I was able to share how I found my joy and peace within with others. It wasn’t just enough for me to share my smile with the world, but I wanted to people to know how they too could have a smile and share it as well. I also work in my church with the evangelistic team and deliverance ministry. And through those two ministries I have witnessed the oppression of so many women who if they had the tool, could find peace within. So, I became a Life Coach. I use the tools that helped me with my clients. Read more>>

Carlie Sturtz | Mental Health Author and Public Speaker

My thought process behind starting Bloomie Brained was that more mental health resources needed to be readily available. Writing and public speaking are crafts that have always been inside of me. They are truly something that I would do for free, and I still do for free quite often through donations, but I think that’s when you know that it’s right. That is how you know that it is passion-driven. Many people don’t realize that the word passion actually derives from its Latin root word patior, which means to suffer. Anything that we are passionate about means that, at times, it’s worth suffering for. Long nights, early mornings, you get the gist. I believe that is what life is all about. Finding something that you are so obnoxiously passionate about that it truly makes life worth living. Before Bloomie Brained I was making money, paying my bills, and living a great life. But there was no passion. Every day was bleak and colorless, and quite frankly, most days felt like Groundhog Day. It wasn’t until I set out on a quest to explore the unknown, leaving my comfort zone in the dust behind me, that I was able to soul-search and find true passion within through business. Read more>>

Dan Weiss | Entrepreneur

For all of the businesses I have started, the idea starts with the consumer or end user. A successful business will start with what the gap is in the marketplace and how an exceptional and unique experience can be delivered to the customer. As our society has become more sophisticated, focusing on personalization, uniqueness and memorable experiences outweigh simply delivering a product. Read more>>

Erin Blackmore | Executive Director

At 27 years old, I had no plans of starting a non-profit. I was working for the Department of Social Services as an eligibility worker. The income limits were set and if a family was even a dollar over the limit, they didn’t receive assistance. It is a very invasive process to apply for government assistance and there are people who would rather go without than go through the process. I got tired of denying benefits to single parents who were just a little over the income limit, but working so hard to make ends meet. I wanted to do something to support the families who often fall through the cracks or receive very little assistance. They try so hard and I noticed they were giving up on hope. Read more>>